For the 10th annual Las Vegas NHRA Nationals two-time Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Funny Car winner Ashley Force Hood will be campaigning a specialty car with a meaning that is close to her heart. Force Hood’s Castrol GTX Ford Mustang will be transformed from the traditional white and green speed machine to a whimsical “Queen of Hearts” tribute to her crew, known inside John Force Racing as D Team.

“We are debuting a special themed race car, the Queen of Hearts Tribute to D Team Car, in Las Vegas and I’m really excited. This special car has been my project from day one. I had an idea to do a special car for my team since they are so important to me and to our Castrol GTX Mustang’s success, yet they just don’t get the credit they deserve sometimes,” said Force Hood in a recent USA Today column.

“We tied in the Queen of Hearts because it was my crew who taped a Queen of Hearts playing card inside my race car years ago and the theme stuck. The idea of the theme car was kept as a surprise from my team all this time and I just showed them the artwork and the die cast at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and they seemed really excited. Plus, after exploding two bodies in Reading, this couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Force Hood.

The Mustang features a group shot of Ashley’s crew including the team mascots Simba and Gizmo. Gone is the traditional white and green replaced with a black and silver matte finish. This is the third specialty car for Force Hood. In 2008 she raced a pink Rookie of the Year Mustang and in 2009 she raced a Ronald McDonald House Castrol GTX Mustang. She is looking forward to showing off this unique look Halloween weekend in Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas is a very big event for our team in our quest for the Full Throttle Championship. We are going to make sure we are prepared, focused and ready to go and however the event goes down, we will be doing it as a team, which is the best reason to have a team in my opinion. They are there to lean on through the highs and the lows instead of doing it on your own,” concluded Force Hood.